OTTAWA, JULY 18, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Here is a statement released Thursday by the Canadian bishops’ conference after the government introduced draft legislation on same-sex marriage.
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The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) is disappointed with the draft legislation on marriage that the Federal government today referred to the Supreme Court of Canada in order to determine its constitutionality.
The draft legislation does not deal with the wider issue of the traditional values of marriage and its place in society that the Canadian Conference of Bishops has addressed many times, including the letter from CCCB President Jacques Berthelet, C.S.V., to Prime Minister Jean Chretien on June 19, 2003 where it was stated:
«The prospect of the bill that you are preparing to present to the House of Commons in support of the redefinition of marriage by including same-sex partners would mean a devaluation of traditional marriage as the basis of the family and as an essential institution for the stability and equilibrium of society.»
The CCCB continues to promote the traditional role of marriage, which is «the lasting union of a man and woman to the exclusion of others » in opposition to that set out in the proposed legislation because «it discriminates against heterosexual marriage and the family, which will be deprived of their social and legal recognition as the fundamental and irreplaceable basis of society.»
More information on the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishop’s position on marriage can be found at http://www.cccb.ca/Backgrounders.htm?CD=&ID=1342.
